Kafton, Rivere picked to lead town council

JACKSON — The 166th township reorganization, and fourth reorganization meeting of the mayor and Township Council, was held on July 7 at the Jackson municipal building.

By a vote of 3-2, Councilman Michael Kafton was selected to once again serve as council president. That term will run from July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010.

Kafton voted for himself and was supported by Councilman Howard Tilis and Councilwoman Bobbie Rivere. Councilman Scott Martin and Councilwoman Ann Updegrave voted no.

Martin said Kafton basically did a good job running the council as president. However, he said he was concerned that with a mayoral race coming up, he would like to see a buffer between Kafton and Mayor Mike Reina, assuming they will both run for mayor.

"There is no reason why Councilwoman Rivere or myself shouldn't have the opportunity to be the council president," said Martin.

Updegrave said she had no problem with anyone on the council being selected to the position of council president, but agreed with Martin that she would like to see a change.

Kafton thanked the majority of the council for their support.

"I look forward to working with all of you," he said. "This has been an exciting year and we have accomplished a lot."

Kafton listed some accomplishments of the past year:

• Preserving 37 acres in conjunction with the Ocean County Board of Freeholders;

• Initiating a Going Green Committee, the Economic Development Council and the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee.

He said he wants to work with Reina and the council to preserve more open space and bring in more good commercial ratables.

Council members returned Rivere to the position of council vice president in a 5-0 vote.

Rivere thanked the council for the honor of being selected as the vice president for a second time.

Appointments were then announced and approved.

New additions to the Planning Board are Stephen Costanzo (mayor's designee) and Gene Fowler (from the environmental commission), while Daniel Burke and Joseph Riccardi will return to their seats on the board. Tilis was reappointed as a member of the Planning Board.

Blanche Krubner, a longtime member of the Planning Board and the environmental commission, was not reappointed to those boards.

The mayor makes the appointments to the Planning Board.

"Like all other towns, things have to change, and we saw a need for a change," Reina said. "Changes were made that were deemed appropriate at this time. These changes were all positive."

The mayor said he has a great amount of respect for Krubner and thanked her for her years of service and dedication to Jackson. He said she was an asset to the township.

Kafton said he was disappointed that Krubner was not reappointed to those municipal bodies.

"I can safely say there is not another person in Jackson who has more environmental qualifications than Blanche Krubner," he said. "In the future I hope that she will be [called upon] to serve on these boards again. She was an incredible asset."

Appointed to the environmental commission were Peter Grzelak, Lonnie Cromwell, James Dallas and Gene Fowler, while James Picon and Steven Chisholm will take their seats on the Shade Tree Commission.

Tax collector Michael Campbell was appointed as the tax search officer.

Appointed to the Medical Services Advisory Board were Kenneth Bressi, Dennis Lafer and Richard Despins.

Barbara Spielman and Nicholas Stallone were appointed to the Apartment and Mobile Home Park Rent Leveling Board. It was noted that there is still one vacancy on this board.

Members of the Municipal Alliance Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse will be Reina, Tilis, Police Chief Matthew Kunz, Police Officers John Pejoski, Frank Cipully, Colin Menafra, Burt Salisbury, Jackson Police Department clergyman the Rev. Dan Shaeffer, New Jersey State Police Sgt. Ronald Hampton, Jackson Board of Education member Linda Lackay, Superintendent of Schools Thomas Gialanella, Student Assistant Coordinator Jamie Boccia, grant committee member Laurie Keats, and municipal alliance consultant Donna Bussiculo.

Sheri Silversmith was appointed as the Americans with Disabilities Act advisory board coordinator, and Wayne Kierce, Robert Macalik, Diane Black, Nancy Lih, Carmen Esposito and Joseph Esposito were appointed to the ADA Advisory Board.

Appointed to the Economic Development Committee are Paul Mayerowitz (liaison to the mayor), Joseph Fiero and Dennis O'Keefe.

The Citizens Budget Advisory Committee members will be Sean Giblin, Kathy Patrick, Matt Genovese, William Spedding, Kenneth Bressi and Paul Mayerowitz.

Appointed to the Going Green Committee are Peggi Sturmfels, Eugene Quintieri, John Gaskill, Carol Lawrence, Gary Moliver, Dennis Kalichstein, Jay Himelstein, Richard Borys and Township Council members Kafton and Rivere.

The Economic Development Committee will consist of Phil Hackmeyer, Murry Liebman, John Gaskill, and council members Kafton and Tilis.

John Burmeister (chief), Stanley O'Brien Jr., Robert Burns and Lenny Loria were appointed as auxiliary police officers.

John Suttles, Richard Egan, Larry St. Laurent, Charles Garofano, Philip D'Angelo, Jack Fields, John Calimano, Gerald Gross, Sean Giblin and Kenneth Bressi were appointed to the Veterans Commission.

During closing remarks Tilis, who serves as the council's representative to the Planning Board, thanked Krubner for her years of service on the board and in the community, as well as for her dedication to environmental issues.

Tilis also thanked Carol Scull for her dedication and service on the Planning Board and to the community.

Scull was not reappointed to her position on the Planning Board.

Tilis also said he would like to start working to establish a local ethics board, and Martin said he would like to work on creating that board.

Updegrave thanked all those who have previously served the township and welcomed all new members to their respective boards and committees.

"I look forward to working with each and every one of you," she said.

Rivere congratulated all of the newly appointed committee and board members and wished them well.

Kafton said it will be an interesting year with two mayoral elections — one in November and one in May — both scheduled to occur before the next reorganization meeting in July 2010.

In November, residents will participate in a mayoral election to select a person to complete the term that was originally won by Mark Seda in 2006. That unexpired term will run from November through June 30, 2010.

In May, residents will vote in the regular nonpartisan election and elect a mayor to serve a four-year term beginning in July.

Reina congratulated Kafton and Rivere for being chosen once again to serve as the council president and vice president, respectively.

"I want to congratulate all those who were appointed and all those who reached out and asked to be appointed," said the mayor. "It is unfortunate that certain people cannot be reappointed."

The mayor said he looks forward to Jackson moving forward over the next year.

The Township Council will meet on the following dates: July 28, Aug. 11, 25, Sept. 8, 22, Oct. 13, 27, Nov. 10, 24, Dec. 8, 22, Jan. 12, 26, Feb. 9, 23, March 9, 23, April 13, 27, May 12 (Wednesday), 25 and June 8, 22.